He said: “It is a pleasure to be involved in supporting Highland Council to realise their vision for the Gaelic language.

“We are seeing growing demand from parents for access to Gaelic medium education across the country which clearly demonstrates that the Scottish Government’s commitments to supporting the language are a having a positive result.

“I commend Highland Council for their actions and look forward to working with them on future projects.”

Gaelic medium education is available in 14 out of 32 Scottish local authorities to all children and young people.

It is available in about 60 primary schools and their associated secondaries in Scotland, including dedicated Gaelic medium schools.

The Scottish Government’s Gaelic Capital Fund was set up in 2008 in recognition of the key role of education in increasing the number of Gaelic speakers.

The number of people recorded as being able to speak, read, write and/or understand Gaelic in the 2011 census was 87,000.